ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Combs' Two Goals Not Enough in 4-3 Shootout Loss

Published on March 20, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


North Charleston, SC - Jack Combs scored twice in regulation, once in a shootout, and added an assist on Sunday, but the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (28-26-9), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the South Carolina Stingrays (38-18-8) in their final meeting at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Marcus Perrier notched two goals for the Stingrays, while Greenville surrendered a pair of two-goal leads in the setback. Despite the loss, the Swamp Rabbits collected one point and improved to 65 points this season. Greenville is now seven points behind eighth-place Elmira for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Swamp Rabbits got off to a great start and built a two-goal lead following the first 20 minutes courtesy of goals from Combs and Scott Fleming. Combs capitalized on Greenville's first power play to make it 1-0 at the 6:37 mark when he collected a feed from Joe Houk, turned in the slot and buried a forehand shot, blocker-side, on goaltender Mark Dekanich. The tally came with Trevor Gillies in the box serving a four-minute double minor for roughing.

Fleming doubled the advantage at the 18:21 mark on a brilliant set-up from Combs. At even strength, Combs battled his way to the doorstep, where he guided a backhand shot wide and into the trapezoid. However, the veteran forward stayed with the play and centered a pass to Fleming near the left circle for a one-time blast past Dekanich. It was Fleming's 18th goal of the season.

Stingrays' forward Stephan Vigier made it 2-1 just 36 seconds into the middle frame when he completed a 2-on-1 rush for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. Brett Cameron created the attack when he moved the puck down the right wing and slipped a cross-ice pass to Vigier in the left circle for a one-time tally.

Combs answered with his second goal of the game at 15:40 of the middle frame to regain Greenville's two-goal advantage. Fleming crossed the blue line and slipped a pass to the bottom of the left circle where Combs gathered the puck and tossed a forehand shot between Dekanich's leg pads. It was Combs' team-leading 21st tally of the season and his third in the last two games.

Less than two minutes later, Perrier pulled South Carolina to within one when muscled his way to the doorstep and nudged home Joe Devin's backhand centering feed at the 17:02 mark. Perrier evened the score with his second goal of the afternoon at 9:00 of the third period on a wrist shot from the left wing that sailed past Mackenzie Skapski's blocker and in.

A wild 3-on-3 overtime session saw 13 combined shots, including Josh Nicholls' breakaway chance in the final 18 seconds, but no goals. In a four-round shootout, Vigier and Brandon Magee each scored for the Stingrays, while Combs netted the only tally for the Swamp Rabbits.

Greenville finished the game 1-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Skapski made 36 saves in the shootout loss, while Dekanich halted 24 shots in the win. The game included one fight when Houk dropped the gloves with Joey Leach at 3:59 of the second period.

South Carolina out shot Greenville 40-27. The Stingrays also won the season series with six wins in 11 games against the Swamp Rabbits.

Next Time Out: The Swamp Rabbits continue a five-game road trip on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Orlando Solar Bears at the Amway Center. Fans can follow all of the live action via the Mixlr audio stream or ECHL.TV. The Official Road Watch Party Destination, the Palmetto Restaurant and Ale House (located at 103 E. Beacon Drive in Greenville), will also stream the game live beginning at 7 p.m.

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics

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